Lecompton Constitution ratification vote. Voters were not voting for the Constitution, rather they were voting for the Constitution with slavery or the Constitution without slavery. With freestaters waiting for the vote on January 4, pro-slavery factions easily carry the vote

Abraham Lincoln signs a bill creating the Navy Medal of Honor, America's first medal. It is to be presented to sailors or marines who "...distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities..."